


Stocks and Bonds

by Andromytta



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Car Racing, F/M, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 15:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16098323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromytta/pseuds/Andromytta
Summary: A Snapshot in the Life of Stock Car Racing’s Finest.  Alternate Universe where our favorite heroes live in the fast paced Stock Car Racing world!





	Stocks and Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> The winning (and only) Prose Entry for the Creative Quest at Creation Entertainment's Giving Back Tour Supernatural Convention in Indianapolis.

**Prologue**

 

For as long as anyone could remember, the Novaks and Winchesters had always loomed larger than life in the world of racing. 

 

Over time, both families proved themselves a formidable and revered presence, in almost every aspect of the sport you could name. In fact, it seemed their subsequent generations were permanently and inextricably bound together - fated to both partnerships, and to greatness - in racing legend, legacy and lore.

 

Some Winchester names became synonymous with daring driving and execution; other Novaks were unmatched in crew team leadership and training; and even the most genteel members of each family - never too far away from the track itself - were still closely involved in generous sponsorships and influential investment partnerships.     

 

But the truth about their rapid rise, steadily diversifying interests and current prominence in the sport was rooted in far more humble soil.

 

For if you dug just a little bit deeper to trace the roots of their mutual renown in racing skills, you'd soon unearth what was pretty much an open (if never discussed at the dinner table) secret: their somewhat dubious ancestral trees of fame for speed and improvisation dated directly back to the run from blame and shame by rebel relatives.

 

The simple fact of the family matter was that both racing dynasties started out as genuine, old-school, hillbillies running moonshine. 

 

And those mad, inherited racing skills? Well, those were born of absolute necessity - those white lightin' reflexes, so to speak, passed down from resourceful kinfolk, who needed to find many  _ creative _ and  _ spontaneous _ ways to out-gun - and outrun - The Law.

 

******

 

Now, of course the Novaks won plenty of championships, back in the day; but with an unexpected and generous investment from the Shurley Corporation, they suddenly had the means to support their natural independent streak and become their own bosses. After deciding they liked the idea of owning their own team, they soon discovered they had a knack for putting together all the right elements, and were better suited to developing, rather than becoming, drivers themselves. 

 

In a team full of promising talent, Henry Winchester stood out as their top driver; and they were well on their way to grooming  _ his _ son, John, to follow in his father's smoking wake  – that is, until one too many Saturday night DUIs got John kicked off the team. Since, on any given Sunday morning, you were more likely to find John sitting in the tank drying out, rather than in church praying to avoid temptation, everyone just assumed he was a throwback to his wilder relatives, who defied more than the laws of gravity when driving.

 

John may have been dumb, but he wasn't  _ stupid _ – so he finally stopped bending his elbow for the hooch, and instead put a little elbow grease into starting his own team, from the ground up. 

 

When he got serious about being a mentor instead of just a bad example for his boys, he geared all his efforts towards teaching Dean and Sam everything he knew about how to drive like you want to win. The boys thrived under so much careful attention from their Daddy; his guidance brought out the boys' inherent skills and inherited instincts, and they were  _ amazing _ .  

 

And so it came as a decided shock to almost everyone when, after a particularly spectacular run of the track that left the other teams breathing burning rubber, Sam just calmly climbed out of his car, hung up his helmet in the locker room, and stopped racing one day – only to drive himself over to a specialized school three towns away, where, later that same afternoon, he signed up to learn everything he needed to know about becoming a crew chief instead.

 

Well, this latest maneuver surprised  _ nearly _ everyone, except for Dean... along with Cas Novak, heir apparent to Shurley-Novak Motorsports. 

 

It was probably because Dean had always  _ felt _ his brother's heart – and had picked up long ago that Sam never truly yearned to follow in their father’s footsteps. As the more cerebral of the two, Sam had always preferred to be behind the scenes, in charge of the delicate machinations and fine-tuning that supported the others on the track. From a somewhat different perspective, Castiel had been objectively but closely observing the brothers for years – and had cooly surmised for himself that the younger Winchester must have harbored ambitions well beyond piloting a race car.

 

It took Cas all of two solid days – and ten Cuban cigars, and three bottles of JD No. 27 Gold – to convince Chuck Shurley to hire on Sam Winchester as apprentice to their top crew chief, Rufus Turner.  

 

Swimming along with all that Jack Daniels coursing through his veins was the 107% knowledge that the chemistry between the Winchester brothers would lead to checker-flag championships; but he also knew it would be no simple bump and run wooing Dean away from the family business, without Cas himself ending up as the backmarker in the race.  

 

One day, he saw his opening. 

 

While oh-so-casually chewing the fat with his new best buddy and lead grease monkey in the pit, Cas managed to eek out that the Winchester's crew chief, Bobby Singer, had wanted to retire for a while now – but that he wouldn't, because loyalty demanded that he be there for Dean. 

 

So Cas did what any junior fixer and aspiring head of the family business would do: Cas made them an offer they couldn't refuse.  

 

He wasted no time in hiring both Bobby and Dean, from right under John's nose – a nose that was, as a circumstance Cas used to his advantage, sinking further and further into a lead crystal tumbler – after the death of his wife, certainly; and, now, after losing one of his sons to the competition.

 

******

 

As willing as he was to do what was necessary to get the deal done, Cas did understand more than a little about how to inspire long-term, complicated and complicit loyalty. 

 

Once he had secured Bobby and Dean on the payroll, he offered both Bobby and Rufus a novel but significant amount of stock options in the company – a move that at once made them feel important personally, as well as invested in the success of the business professionally. In addition, he put them both in charge of the garage: a largely symbolic gesture that respected their pride; yet, in practical terms, really meant they could enjoy a half-work, half-retirement situation with dignity, since Castiel already had an excellent staff who needed almost no arduous supervision.

 

And that's how it came to be that after the less-appealing (but necessary) sausage-making details of early deal-making were accomplished, the Novaks and the Winchesters proved to be a driving dynasty hyphen-match made in heaven.  

 

 

 

**Some Years Later…**

 

Shurley-Novak Motorsports was busier than usual, preparing for the new racing season. 

 

Chuck Shurley had taken a step back; and although this move surprised quite a few of his competitors, those who knew him better understood that over the years, he'd gotten past the immediate adrenaline enough to learn how to truly savor his successes. These days, he was content to leave the day-to-day operations of the team to Castiel Novak and his two trusted advisors, Rufus Turner and Bobby Singer.

 

In the meantime, what was originally a single-car operation now consisted of three distinct racing teams. 

 

Dean Winchester and his brother, Sam, brought home four championships; for years, they'd proven themselves as both the reliable workhorses and the Crown Jewels of the organization – all while they grew sharper and smarter as drivers, and the management grew into a cohesive, laser-focused team. 

 

The driver of their second car seemed to change on almost a biannual basis – until one fateful day, when Castiel put his 18-year-old daughter Claire behind the wheel – with a totally untested, rookiest-of-the-newbies, impossibly young crew chief named Kevin Tran backing her up, no less. 

 

What happened next sent shockwaves throughout the racing universe. 

 

Let's just say that no one (except, perhaps, Castiel himself) saw it coming when such an unlikely dynamic duo raced rings around their more experienced, more established, and  _ definitely _ more jaded competitors. Her innovative turn techniques – worth all the puns and jokes she got as  _ that girl driver with the mad curves, son _ – as well as her aggressive, long-stretch blocking tactics – easily combined to win Claire the title Rookie of the Year; and to join her in unheard-of accolades for a novice crew chief, Kevin Tran was instantly catapulted into a new kind of fame among the taciturn, behind-the-scenes crew chiefs who usually kept their mouths shut, kept out of the spotlight, kept their wrenches clean, yet kept their instincts during a race on DEFCON 2.   

 

Three years after that blaze onto the scene – and emboldened by the success of their risk-taking on brand spanking new talent – Castiel brought on yet another another rookie driver, announcing to the racing world that he was starting a  _ third _ team wave of raw skills to be dealt with.

 

******

 

Jack Kline was the reigning champion of the Bush League series, and was interested in making his Piston Cup debut. 

 

Back in the day, Castiel had been something like a close, almost experimental...  _ friend _ with Jack’s mother, Kelly. Jack was currently fulfilling his familial duty, racing for his own overbearing father. Suffice to say that this all made for some interesting personal dynamics – dynamics that, unsurprisingly, Castiel did not hesitate to use for his advantage.

 

Well aware that he was considered the literal devil of the racing world, it didn’t take much for one very ambitious Jack to let himself be convinced by one very calculating Castiel to act out his belated rebellion against his overbearing father and leave the family firm, only to join the enemy team.

 

So here they all found themselves: seated around the long, elegantly bevelled glass table in the conference room, situated at the heart of the race team’s impressive headquarters. Cas was positioned at the head, naturally; with Rufus and Bobby closely – and protectively – flanking him. On one side of this rectangle sat Dean, Claire, and Kevin; while Jack, Sam, and Sam’s assistant crew chief, Charlie Bradbury, lined the other. 

 

Cas cleared his throat, then began the meeting.

 

“As I am sure you are all aware, we have a new addition to Shurley-Novak Motorsports. Jack Kline comes to us after winning the Bush League championship, three years in a row. Jack, say hello,” Cas ordered, in his gravelly, no-nonsense business voice.

 

“Hello, everyone!” Jack obliged, jovially.

 

*****

 

Cas knew what kind of reaction he was going to get to what he had to say next. And in the firm belief that a little band-aid ripping was in order, he obliged his audience with very little polite preamble before he dropped what he had to say.

 

“Now, with the start of a new team means there are a few changes we are making to the existing teams. Bobby, Rufus and I have discussed this at length; and we’ve decided that Sam will be Jack’s crew chief, while Charlie will be promoted from assistant crew chief to lead crew chief – and she’ll be working with Dean this year.”

 

Dean Winchester was not known for his calm and cool demeanor. 

 

In fact, although he was often described as a great driver and an all-around good guy you could depend on to do the right thing by anyone, he was also known across several state lines – and in several dive 'social clubs' and no-name bars located in each of those states – as one bad mofo & righteous summafabitch you didn't want to cross, even in a fair fight; with a red-hot right hook to back up his temper right up, if he thought you were trying to get away with something.

 

So it says a lot about his self-control that he managed to merely sit there grinding his teeth and clenching his fists under the table, as the rest of the meeting went on and on. He stopped paying attention to what was the normal pre-season pep talks and scheduling; he was too busy stewing in his own juices, seething and waiting for his opportunity to get Cas alone in his office.

 

Which happened about fifteen minutes later.

 

Dean stormed passed his husband’s secretary, Meg Masters, before she could even have a hope to stop him. He stomped into Castiel’s office and slammed the door behind him. “Dammit, Cas! You can’t just shuffle teams around three months before the Daytona 500!”

 

Cas had a temper to rival Dean’s; he was just usually much better about keeping it in check – until one (any) of his drivers questioned his decisions, of course, which may have explained the revolving door of drivers for his second race team (perhaps)... 

 

But he didn’t come here to talk about that.  

 

“First of all, Dean, this is my team – and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want! Second of all, I did what’s best for this team, not just what’s best for  _ you _ ! Am I supposed to show favoritism, just because we’re married?”

 

“How is this what’s best?  Sam and I have four,  _ four _ championships!  What sense does it make to break up something that works?”

 

“Dean, you haven’t won a championship in almost five years.  It’s time for a change. Besides, we need an experienced crew chief with Jack.”

 

“So put Kevin with Jack and Charlie with Claire.  Sam is  _ my _ crew chief.”

 

“Claire and Kevin have finished in the top ten since she started racing.  Besides, do you want to be the one to explain to our daughter why we’re separating her from her boyfriend?”

 

Dean dropped into one of the chairs in front of Cas’s desk and put his head in his hands.  “Not really. That’s one power pout I don’t want to deal with.”

 

“Then it’s settled.  Charlie will be your crew chief this year and Sam will be Jack’s.”

 

“Why can’t Charlie work with Jack?” Dean pouted.  (No one wondered where Claire got her pout from.)

 

Cas sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together in front of his mouth.  “Dean, do you remember when Sam got that horrendous virus and was out of commission for eight races?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And Charlie was running the show?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Dean, how did you do during that eight race stretch?”

 

“Two wins, five top fives, one top ten.”

 

“Exactly.  That is why you and Charlie are working together this year.  You have great chemistry.”

 

“Fine.” Dean conceded.  “You know I hate it when you’re right.”

 

“Really?  See, now I kind of like it.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

*****

 

Daytona 500 race weekend, time to see if the changes made at Shurley-Novak Motorsports would pay off.  There was speculation that Dean being separated from his brother would lead the hot-blooded driver to be the cause of “the big one,” a large scale wreck that was common at restrictor plate tracks like Daytona and Talladega.  Dean, ever the rebel, was determined to prove them wrong. He did, and finished an impressive fifth place. Surprisingly, Jack won the race. Unfortunately, Claire ended up causing “the big one” when she blew a tire and caused a thirteen car pile-up.  Even though no one was hurt, Claire was still inconsolable and would only talk to Dean.

 

Despite being his adopted kid, Claire picked up a lot of personality traits from Dean, including his volatile temper and mile-long competitive streak.  Which was why at times like this, Dean was the only one who could talk to her.

 

Inevitably, she blamed Kevin for the tire failure and threatened to have her dad fire him.  Dean let himself into her hauler without bothering to knock. “Hey, Kiddo, you know it’s not Kevin’s fault, right?”

 

“It was a tire failure,  _ Dad _ !  If it’s not his fault, then whose fault is it?” Claire grumped.  She was curled up on the couch, still wearing her fire suit, her blonde braids falling haphazardly, and clutching a stuffed toy version of her own race car like her life depended on it.

 

“Um, maybe it’s the tire’s fault.  Equipment failure is a thing, you know,” Dean said as he sat down next to her.

 

As any mature 21 year old would do, she blew a raspberry at him.

 

“First of all, ew.” Dean replied as he dramatically wiped nonexistent spittle from his face.  “Second of all, you only say that because you know I’m right.”

 

Her only reply was to do it again.

 

“Hey!  Can you not?  I did just have a shower you know!”

 

“Sorry, Dad.  It’s just…I was in third place, you know?”

 

“I know, Kiddo.”  He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed.  “But these things do happen, and sometimes it’s nobody’s fault and we have no control over them.”  Before she could say anything, he continued. “I know, I know. We like to control every external factor that we can so that it’s just us, the car, and the track, like we’re one.  But we can’t control everything. That’s what we have crew chiefs for. And no matter how good they are, and Kevin  _ is _ good, even they can’t account for random equipment failure.”

 

“Yeah, well, they should.”  She said lamely.

 

“They’re not prophets and psychics, no matter how much we wish they were.”

 

“Yeah, I guess….I guess I should probably apologize to Kevin.  And tell Dad not to fire him.”

 

“Cas is not going to fire Kevin.  But yes, you should still apologize.”

 

“Ok, fine.  I will. Now can you leave so I can take a shower?”

 

“Yeah, Kiddo.  See ya later.” Dean kissed her on the cheek before taking his leave.

 

*****

The first half of the season turned out to be a good showing for Shuley-Novak Motorsports.  Dean and Claire managed to be a constant presence in the top five in the points spread. Jack was clearly the top contender for Rookie of the Year. Another fixture in the top five was Dean’s best friend, Benny Lafitte, one of the only single team owner/drivers to make a decent showing in the modern era.  The Indianapolis 400 marked the midway point of the season, and the three of them were solidly in the top three going into the race. Claire was leading, Benny was second, and Dean was third.

 

Dean expected that to change after this race.  If he won, he’d take over the points lead and would prove to all the doubters that he didn’t need Sam to win championships.  And he would win. This was his race. Dean Winchester won at Indy, ever since he started racing for his father’s team. Ok, so there was that one time Benny won and Dean didn’t speak to him for a year, but nobody ever mentioned that.  The bottom line was that this was  _ Dean’s _ track, and Dean would win this race.

 

It was a close race.  Dean led for most of it, as predicted.  Benny kept steady in third for the most part, and Claire stayed about fifth.  That was until the last pit stop. Kevin and his crew got Claire out well ahead of the others, and she never gave up the lead.  Dean came close to passing her, but ran out of laps before he could regain the lead, finishing second for first time in over a decade.  Benny maintained his third place position and came in right behind them. 

 

While Claire was making her victory lap, Dean stomped off to his hauler, not even acknowledging the reporter trying interview him.  He slammed the door behind him, threw his helmet against the wall and slumped into the chair at the dining table and poured himself a drink.

 

Meanwhile, in Victory Lane, everyone came to congratulate Claire.  Kevin, of course was the first one there, much to the dismay of the reporter chasing him to get an interview with the winning crew chief.  Sam and Jack came to give their good wishes. Cas wasn’t far behind them, with Charlie right behind him. Even Benny and his crew chief Ash came to see her after he gave his interview.

 

As the festivities died down, Cas wrapped Claire in his arms and told her how proud he was of her.  Instead of beaming at him with her beautiful smile, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Claire, Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

 

“Dad is pretty mad at me, isn’t he?   He’s going to stop talking to me now, right?  Like he did when Uncle Benny won?”

 

Castiel wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.  “I’m sure your dad is just as proud of you as I am. He’s just…sensitive.”

 

“You mean he’s a jerk.” Claire said, sniffling.

 

Back in Dean’s hauler, before he could even take a sip of the drink he just poured, Bobby Singer came blustering in, slamming the door in his wake.  “What are you doing here, boy?”

 

“Bobby, I-“

 

“Don’t you dare make some whiny, sissy excuse about how this is ‘your’ track or whatever.  I raised you better than this. You are not your daddy, so get off your ass and congratulate your kid!”

 

“I know I should, but I can’t go back out there Bobby.  I already blew off a reporter…” His excuse trailed off and he stared into his glass.

 

“Fine, do what you want, idjit, but don’t let your kid think you hate her now.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Dean said glumly.  He knew Bobby was right. He picked up his earpiece and dialed into the team’s radio frequency.

 

As Claire was standing there, trying not to fall apart in her father’s arms, a gruff voice came over her earpiece.  “I’m proud of you, Kiddo,” was all Dean said. It was enough, and Claire’s smile could have lit a thousand race tracks.

 

*****

 

The second half of the season went much like the first.  Dean, Benny, and Claire were solidly in the top five, and Jack already secured Rookie of the Year honors.  It all came down to the last race of the season, 400 miles at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three of them had swapped the point’s lead so much that it all came down to how this race shook out.  It was going to be a barn burner.

 

Claire was putting on a good showing, never dropping out of the top five the entire race.  Benny maintained a top five presence as well. Dean was doing just as well until he tried to pass Drexel Jones, a rookie driving for Crowley Racing, who was several laps down.  As Dean tried to make the pass, his front bumper caught the corner of Drexel’s rear bumper, causing both of them to spin out, collecting a couple of other cars in the process. Claire and Benny made it passed the wreck unscathed and were one-two when the yellow caution flag gave way to the green flag to resume the race.

 

Dean managed to limp back onto the track, three laps down, and championship hopes dashed.  He still had to log as many laps as possible to maintain a position in the top five of the point’s race.  He had Charlie keeping tabs on how Claire was doing. If he couldn’t win the Piston Cup, then by God, his daughter was going to.  Even if he had to cause another wreck. Which of course he would never do. Never.

 

He didn’t have to.  Benny and Claire seemed to trade the lead every other lap.  On the last lap, it looked like Benny had it, but Claire managed to squeak by at the last second to win the race and the championship.  The first person in Victory Lane was none other than Dean Winchester, who made a mad dash from his car while Claire was doing her Victory Lap, donuts and all.  She parked and slid out the window, pulling her helmet off and tossing it into the car, her blonde braids cascading down her shoulders. She pulled the Velcro on the collar of her fire suit open, and she never stopped smiling.  Before she could even make it properly to where the reporters were waiting, Dean scooped his daughter up and noisily kissed both her cheeks in front of them and everybody. “That’s my kid!” He shouted repeatedly to the reporters waiting to interview the new champion.

 

Kevin was the next one in the Winner’s Circle, where he was handed a well shook bottle of champagne.  He cracked it open and sprayed it everywhere (especially all over Claire) just as the confetti cannons blew.  She grabbed him by the lapels of his fire suit and tried to kiss him, but her smile was so big it was more like just smashing their lips together.

 

Castiel, Sam, Jack, Charlie, Benny, and Ash joined the celebration.  It was several minutes before the waiting reporter could get her interview with Claire.  Finally, the chaos died down and the crowd parted so that it was just Claire and Kevin standing in the middle of the Winner’s Circle.  Claire refused to let go of his hand, so the reporter had no choice but to interview them together.

 

“So, it’s only your third year racing for the Piston Cup.  How does it feel to win the championship so soon?”

 

Claire didn’t stop smiling as she answered.  “This is awesome! You know, my dad won the championship in his third year.  It’s like I’m carrying on the family legacy or something. This is great!”

 

The reporter looked back and forth between the driver and her crew chief.  “Is there anything you’d like to say to Kevin Tran, who helped you get here?”

 

Claire’s eyes got wide as she considered the question.  “Yes! Yes I would like to say something to the greatest crew chief and the greatest boyfriend ever.”  She turned to face Kevin, gripping both of his hands in both of hers. “Kevin Tran, let’s get married!”

 

“Ok!” He agreed, nodding happily.

 

Before anyone could register what just happened, Dean made his way into the circle.  “Y’all, my kid just won the Piston Cup!” It was pretty clear he’d be saying that for at least the next month.

 

The reporter giggled at him and added, “Your kid also just got engaged!”

 

“WHAT?!?”

**EPILOGUE**

 

**From this morning's** **_Page Six_ ** **:**

 

Which famous racing titan has scaled down his competitive corporate instincts to be quite the complacent yet proactive Father of the rumored Bridezilla – completely taking over almost all of the usual  _ mother of the bride _ arrangements – for his equally famous daughter's wedding?

 

More amusing still: could it be that the famous couple in question were perfectly happy handing over control of everything – for once – to Daddy Dearest... especially since they'd already eloped to be married the first time in the infamous A Elvis Chapel, the last time they were in Vegas? 

 

Word has it that the same songbird who chirped that tell-all tune insists that while both Charlie & Smash filled the role of witnesses, it was the demure and reluctant Smash who finally caught the bride's delicate bouquet of baby's breath mixed among miniature pink classic Cadillac Hot Wheels.

 

Vroom, vroom, people. This is how you ride the room. And the groom? 

 

And all the best, you krazy kids. Go, speed racers, go!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
> 
> Come visit me on Tumblr!


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